Jan - Home was a good place to be

Jan’s parents, Colin and Ella, knew each other from church and the tennis club. Her mother had liked the way her dad folded his tennis jersey. They were madly in love, embarrassingly so for Jan when she was younger. Knowing he might not come back from WWII, Colin did not want to leave Ella as a widow with children. They got engaged before he left but waited to marry. Colin’s war records were saved with his letters from Ella.

Her parents were active leaders who always sought to make a difference within their communities. Ella was a JP and nurse in palliative care with her father worked for the Ministry of Works as a civil engineer. They were stalwarts of the Presbyterian Church, becoming the first couple in New Zealand to be Elders (it was normally single men). This meant her mum was the first female Elder in the country too. Her father would fill in at the local church when there was no minister available.

Jan was born in Karori, Wellington in 1947. The family moving to Mangakino when she was eighteen months old, living there from 1949-1962 when the family moved to Whanganui. They spent a year in Hamilton (1964) before moving back to the original family home in Karori. All of the families’ relocations were part of Colin being promoted for his work. Her parents had kept their house in Karori as her dad figured he would end up working in Head Office.

Jan thought she was lucky to have a solid family base from which to venture out into the world. Her relationship with her parents was based in love, respect and humour. Typical of the time though, they were not particularly huggy. Jan learnt from her father to use humour to handle difficult situations eg Jan watched him show staff at a cake store there was a fly in their display cabinet. He did this by quietly tracing the route the fly took. Jan admired her mum’s sense of style, practicality and energy levels.

She acknowledges that as a result of what she learnt from her parents, Jan and Euan (her husband) were able to provide a loving stable environment for their boys too.